Australia pulled away late to produce a 3-0 victory over Chinese Taipei in the 2026 World Baseball Classic opener at the Tokyo Dome.
Catcher Robbie Perkins led Australia with a two-run home run to break a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth inning. Travis Bazzana added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh inning with a solo home run.
Perkins worked with three different pitchers including Alex Wells, who pitched three scoreless innings as the starter and struck out six. He threw 28 strikes on 46 pitches.
Chinese Taipei struggled to produce any offense throughout the game. The team had a chance at the end, managing to get a pair of runners on base before Australia secured the final out.
‘Growing up, I always looked ahead and kind of had a vision of things I wanted to do in this game, and this was a big part of it,’ Bazzana, the top pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, said leading up to the opener. ‘Young me would be dreaming of (this) and now it’s here. Just got to make the most of it.’
Check out highlights from the contest:
Final: Australia 3, Chinese Taipei 0
Chinese Taipei managed to get runners on first and second base in the ninth inning but were unable to get the runners home to tie the game.
Australia pitcher Jon Kennedy caught the bouncing ball and made a running attempt toward first base, where he nearly stumbled but tossed the ball to record the final out.
It was just the second shutout victory for Australia in WBC play.
Australia adds to lead in seventh
Travis Bazzana hits a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to increase Australia’s lead to 3-0. Bazzana sent the ball 383 feet to right field.
Bazzana was the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Guardians.
Australia takes first lead against Chinese Taipei
Robbie Perkins put Australia on the board with a homer, taking a 2-0 lead against Chinese Taipei in the bottom of the fifth inning against pitcher Po-Yu Chen.
Chinese Taipei records first hit after Australia’s pitching change
Yu Chang produced Chinese Taipei’s first hit of the game in the third inning against Australia pitcher Jack O’Loughlin.
O’Loughlin was called out of the bullpen to replace Alex Wells. Wells struck out six and allowed just one walk on 46 pitches (28 strikes).
Chinese Taipei and Australia scoreless through two innings
Australia pitcher Alex Wells has not allowed a hit through the first two innings of play. He has struck out three while allowing just one walk. He has thrown 33 pitches.
Jo-Hsi Hsu of Chinese Taipei did not allow a hit in the second inning. Hsu had 21 of his first 27 pitches result in a strike. He has struck out two batters.
Chinese Taipei and Australia remain scoreless after first inning
The two teams remain scoreless after the first inning of play to open the World Baseball Classic. Chinese Taipei pitcher Jo-Hsi Hsu produced the third out to end the inning after striking out Alex Hall of Australia. Curtis Mead recorded the only hit of the inning against Hsu.
Australia pitcher Alex Wells produced one strikeout and a walk against Chinese Taipei in the first inning.
How to watch Chinese Taipei vs Australia: TV channel, stream
Matchup: Chinese Taipei vs. Australia
Time: 10 p.m.
Location: Tokyo (Tokyo Dome)
TV: FS1
Streaming: FOX One App
Stream the World Baseball Classic on Fubo
Why is Stuart Fairchild playing for Chinese Taipei?
Stuart Fairchild will serve as the leadoff batter for Chinese Taipei in World Baseball Classic action against Australia.
Fairchild is eligible to play for Chinese Taipei because his mother is Taiwanese.
He credits catcher Lyle Lin for recruiting him to the Chinese Taipei roster, according to Taiwan’s Overseas Community Affairs Council.
Chinese Taipei’s starting lineup vs. Australia
CF – Stuart Fairchild
DH – An-Ko Lin
RF – Chen Chieh-hsien
3B – Yu Chang
1B – Nien-ting Wu
SS – Kun-yu Chiang
2B – Tzu-wei Lin
C – Shao-Hung Chiang
LF – Chen-wei Chen
Australia’s starting lineup vs. Chinese Taipei
2B – Travis Bazzana
3B – Curtis Mead
CF – Aaron Whitefield
DH – Alex Hall
SS – Jarryd Dale
1B – Rixon Wingrove
C – Robbie Perkins
LF – Chris Burke
RF – Tim Kennelly
Who is Australia’s WBC starting pitcher vs. Chinese Taipei?
Alex Wells will serve as Australia’s starting pitcher on Wednesday against Chinese Taipei. Wells previously played for the Baltimore Orioles in 2021 and 2022.
He started eight of the 13 games he played in, allowing 58 hits and 34 earned runs while striking out 32 in 46.1 innings pitched.
Who is Chinese Taipei’s WBC starting pitcher vs. Australia?
Jo-Hsi Hsu will serve as the starting pitcher for Chinese Taipei on Wednesday against Australia. He does not have any MLB experience.
Hsu spent the past four years in the CPBL. He has a 16-18 record, starting in 60 of the 64 games he played in. He’s allowed 229 hits, 82 earned run and nine home runs while striking out 349 in 305 innings pitched.
Australia WBC roster 2026
Pitchers
Kieren Hall (RHP) – Perth Heat
Ky Hampton (RHP) – Adelaide Giants
Josh Hendrickson (LHP) – Adelaide Giants
Sam Holland (RHP) – Brisbane Bandits
Jon Kennedy (LHP) – Brisbane Bandits
Connor MacDonald (RHP) – Brisbane Bandits
Cooper Morgan (LHP) – Adelaide Giants
Mitch Neunborn (RHP) – Philadelphia Phillies org
Jack O’Loughlin (LHP) – Adelaide Giants
Warwick Saupold (RHP) – Perth Heat
Blake Townsend (LHP) – Texas Rangers org
Todd Van Steensel (RHP) – Adelaide Giants
Alex Wells (LHP) – Sydney Blue Sox
Lachlan Wells (LHP) – LG Twins (KBO)
Coen Wynne (RHP) – Sydney Blue Sox
Catchers
Mitchell Edwards – Adelaide Giants
Alex Hall – Perth Heat
Robbie Perkins – Brisbane Bandits
Infielders
Travis Bazzana – Cleveland Guardians org
George Callil – Brisbane Bandits
Jarryd Dale – KIA Tigers (KBO)
Robbie Glendinning – Adelaide Giants
Curtis Mead – Chicago White Sox
Logan Wade – Brisbane Bandits
Rixon Wingrove – Brisbane Bandits
Outfielders
Ulrich Bojarski – Melbourne Aces
Chris Burke – Melbourne Aces
Max Durrington – Oakland Athletics org
Tim Kennelly – Perth Heat
Aaron Whitefield – Melbourne Aces
Chinese Taipei WBC roster 2026
Pitchers: Hsu Jo-hsi, Gu Lin Ruei-yang, Lin Yu-min, Lin Wei-en, Po-Yu Chen, Zhuang Chen Zhong-Ao, Sha Tzu-chen, Sun Yi-lei, Tseng Jyun-yue, Lin Kai-wei, Lin Shi-xiang, Chang Yi, Chen Kuan-yu, Hu Chih-wei, Cheng Hao-chun, and Zhang Jun-wei.
Catchers: Kungkuan Giljegiljaw, Lyle Lin (Lin Chia-cheng) and Jiang Shao-hong.
Infielders: Yu Chang, Tsung-Che Cheng, Lee Hao-yu, Chiang Kun-yu, Wu Nien-ting and Lin Tzu-wei.
Outfielders: Stuart Fairchild, Chen Chieh-hsien (Captain), Lin An-ko and Chen Chen-wei.
What WBC pool are Chinese Taipei and Australia in?
Chinese Taipei and Australia are two of the five teams playing in Pool C of the World Baseball Classic. The rest of the group includes Japan, Korea and Czechia.
World Baseball Classic Pool C schedule
March 5: Chinese Taipei vs. Australia
March 5: Czechia vs. South Korea
March 6: Australia vs. Czechia
March 6: Japan vs. Chinese Taipei
March 7: Chinese Taipei vs. Czechia
March 7: South Korea vs. Japan
March 8: Chinese Taipei vs. South Korea
March 8: Australia vs. Japan
March 9: South Korea vs. Australia
March 10: Czechia vs. Japan
